CAPE TOWN IN 2 DAYS

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Day 5: Cape Town in 2 days: Table Mountain, Waterfront and Robben Island

We start the route of Cape Town in 2 days with great news and it is that the Table Mountain funicular is finally operational, a visit that we had planned for the Cape Town route in one day but in the end we had to postpone because it was very windy and the funicular was inoperative .
So with this great news, with which we confirm that we can finally meet Table Mountain, one of the places to see in Cape Town essential, after a couple of hours of work, when it is 7 am we go down to the lounge Breakfast at Circa Luxury Apartment Hotel, our accommodation in Cape Town these days, stops at 8 o'clock to take the rental car in South Africa and travel the 6 kilometers that separate us from the Table Mountain funicular station.

Although they open at 8:30 in the morning at this time of year, we get the big surprise when we see that there is already a kilometer line, even in the row of travelers with tickets already purchased and parking is complete, so that we have to park almost halfway, on the shoulder, as all the cars that are arriving at this time are already doing.
Taking this into account we recommend you, especially if the funicular has been closed for several days, arrive before 8 in the morning so you don't have to queue.

Tail in Table Mountain

Seeing what awaits us at this point on the Cape Town route in 2 days, we relax and take advantage of the queue time to have a coffee and review the planning of the next days of the trip to South Africa in 25 days, in which We will start the route itself and start visiting places where animals will be the true protagonists.

Table Mountain, one of the places you can't miss on the Cape Town route in 2 days

Considered to be the most famous mountain in Cape Town, visible from virtually anywhere in the city and that gives its name to the Table Mountain National Park to which it belongs, this is a must-see, whenever time permits, in the city.
With a very appropriate name, since its shape resembles a table, with an altitude of 1000 meters and a plain that can be traveled walking through several paths, it has a really impressive relief, which has made it one of the city symbols.
Formed over 500 million years ago, Table Mountain is always incredible, although the days when the clouds are low and seem to create a mantle under the plain, are especially striking and truly magnificent.

To climb up to the area known as the plain, where you can walk, you can choose two ways:

Walking on an ascent that will take you several hours (4-5 in total) and that is quite demanding due to the slope.
In funicular, with which for R330 per person you can go up and down in a funicular with 360º views in which the cabin rotates during the ascent and you can enjoy really spectacular views.

Table Mountain funicular

Things to do in Table Mountain

Once you are on top of Table Mountain, we recommend you take some time to look at the paths that are there, there are not many and start to travel them.
Keep in mind that most visitors stay in the initial part, where are the viewpoints with best views, so we advise you to do these but then continue walking to enjoy Table Mountain for yourself.

Table mountain

Dassie Walk (15 minutes) Very easy: This path is the one that most people usually do since it is the one that moves away from the funicular area. The views of the north, west and south of Table Mountain and the city are incredible.

Table Mountain viewpoint

This is where the 3 most incredible viewpoints of Table Mountain are located, which you cannot miss on the Cape Town route in 2 days.

Agama Walk (30 minutes) Very easy: This walk is the most popular route as it travels through the area giving you a 360 degree perspective of both Cape Town and the places to see on the Cape Peninsula, where we were on Yesterday.

Table Mountain Trail

Klipspringer Walk (45 minutes) Very easy: This section offers spectacular views, which take you along the platform to the Platteklip Gorge area.

Panoramic Table Mountain

If you have time, we recommend you do the 3 trails. It will not take you more than 2 hours with stops included, to have a view of the whole Table Mountain set, which we assure you, will be one of the most incredible places in South Africa for free.

Tips for visiting Table Mountain

The schedule varies throughout the year, so we recommend you look at the official website to check it on the dates you are going to come, although for you to get an idea it is usually from 8 am to 7:30 pm.
The price of the funicular is R330 per person for a round trip in the morning (8h-13h), which is the best time to visit Table Mountain. If you have the Wild Card and buy it directly at the ticket office, you will have a 20% discount.
You can buy tickets through the official website or the Funicular Ticket with the tourist bus to get there and not worry about the car.
We, despite the Wild Card discount, which are about 4 euros to change, if you do not want to queue, we recommend buying them online or next to the bus and skip the lines.
In the funicular area there is a cafeteria and a small shop.
Respect the rules, always. Do not smoke, do not tear plants, do not feed the animals and above all, respect the environment and leave only your tracks.
As we mentioned earlier the funicular is inoperative due to bad weather and this is always indicated through its website. That is why it is convenient to control the web to see the weather forecast and if the funicular is open or closed.
In case of being closed, another of the options that we in this case do not value, is to walk up. The journey is 4-5 hours and is quite demanding, so if you are not fit, we believe it is not an appropriate option.
In the funicular area there is a parking lot for cars that usually fills up very fast, so if when you go up you already see that there are cars parked on the shoulder, it is best not to reach the end and leave it on the way up to save weather.
Whenever possible we recommend you to come first thing, half an hour before the opening, since very large queues are usually formed, especially organized tours.

Table Mountain, a must on a route through Cape Town in 2 days

After practically 2 hours at Table Mountain, when it is 11 and a little in the morning and after doing the three paths that have taken us through all the corners of the plateau, we return to the funicular, to meet at this time with the famous dassies , some small rodents very similar to the typical guinea pigs of this place and begin the descent of one of the most beautiful places we have seen so far.

Table mountain

Lion's head

Although we have only seen Lion's Head from the perspective of Signal Hill the first day on the route through Cape Town in one day and today from Table Mountain, we want to comment that there are many travelers who recommended us to climb, something that can be done even if the weather is bad, since the road is entirely on foot.
That said, after looking at it well, we saw that the ascent is about 2 hours and there are several difficult areas where you should practically climb between rocks, so we just discarded it.

Lion's head

There are a few minutes to 12 when we return to the rental car to return to the Circa Luxury Apartment Hotel where we leave the car in the parking lot to continue with the Cape Town route in 2 days which will take us to Waterfront, another of the essential places to see in Cape Town, from where the ferry to Robben Island also leaves, which when we canceled yesterday due to bad weather, we just rescheduled for this afternoon.

Our hotel is about a kilometer from the Waterfront and as we begin to approach this area of Cape Town, we begin to notice that this is probably the place where we most noticed the social difference of the city and that although we do not have a predefined idea of this site, as soon as we arrive we have found something that at first glance has seemed to us a stage or a kind of theme park made exclusively for white people, in which to eat, enjoy and have fun.

Waterfront

More practical information to prepare your trip to South Africa
- 10 essential places to see in South Africa
- 10 essential places to see in Cape Town
- The best tips for traveling to South Africa

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

After different renovations and restorations this area of Cape Town in a few years has become one of the hot spots in the city, in which a neighborhood has been established, very safe and frequented especially on weekends by people Looking to have fun and spend some time away from the city.
This leisure area, where bars, restaurants, shopping centers and even a museum stand out, considered the largest museum of contemporary art in Africa, is, they say, a space for people of all social classes and colors.

Cape Town in two days

Although we were not more than a few hours and it is very easy to speak from this point of view, our perception was totally different and it is that both 99% of restaurants and shops are totally focused on a middle-upper class of society that Unfortunately, it does not include the majority of the black population.

Waterfront

That said, at least for us this place is curious to see, but not for more than a couple of hours, we would take advantage of linking to the visit to Robben Island, since ferries to the island leave from one of the Waterfront docks and it can be a good complement to the route by Cape Town in 2 days.

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish to know Cape Town by travelers:
- Multiparada tour of Cape Town by tourist bus
- Funicular ticket of the Table Mountain and tourist bus
- Robben Island: tickets for the ferry and pick up at the hotel
- Combined tour of the municipality and Robben Island
- From Cape Town: Cape Point and penguins
- Full day around the Cape Peninsula and penguin colony

Given that the Cape Town in 2 days Continue with the ferry to Robben Island and this we have it at 3 in the afternoon we decided to approach one of the most recommended restaurants in the area, Willoughby & Co, sushi specialists, where after waiting a few minutes to give us a table, We ordered three varieties of rolls plus water for R576, plus 10% gratuity, something that must be taken into account in restaurants in South Africa, since although it is not included in the ticket, it is practically mandatory, as in the US, to leave it.

Today's lunch on the Cape Town route in two days

It's 2:30 in the afternoon when we continue with the Cape Town in 2 days approaching the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront, which is near the Clock Tower, from where ferries depart, to wait for boarding time that will take us to one of the places we most wanted to know on this trip .

Robben Island lockers

Robben island

This small island-prison can be said to be one of the most famous next to Alcatraz in San Francisco, because it was here that Mandela remained for 18 of the 27 years he remained in prison.
Used by the first settlers as a prison, this piece of land was also an asylum and a leprosarium for later, during the aparheid, becoming a prison again, in which the living conditions were terribly harsh.

Keep in mind that the visit to Robben Island can only be done in a guided way and you must arrive with a ferry from the Waterfront area in Cape Town.
You can buy the tickets through the website, in case the ferry is canceled due to bad weather you can change it during the day provided there are places, book tickets for the ferry and pick up at the hotel or this Cape Town Combined Tour and Robben Island

It is important to know that this is a tour that usually runs out very fast, so it is important and highly recommended to book it in time to not run out of seats and above all, to organize your routes, as we did for this Cape Town in 2 days.

Robben island

Visit to Robben Island

The visit to the island consists of three different parts, which can be done in different order according to the schedule you have taken or the group you are in.

1st part: Bus tour in which you go through the first houses, the church and the leprosarium while the guide explains the history of these as well as anecdotes and details of what happened in these places.
2nd part: A small 25-20 minute stop is made in a small coffee shop, from which you can enjoy unique views of Cape Town and a penguin colony that inhabits the island.
3rd part: This part of the visit to Robben Island is probably the toughest and is where you access the sections where the political prisoners were. In addition to these, Section B is visited, where 30 prisoners were totally isolated from the rest and the famous cell in which Mandela was imprisoned.
After this visit, you access one of the sections in which an old prisoner explains, with an amazing calm his story, trying at all times to make clear the need to forgive even after the terrible humiliations.

Robben Island buses

Robben Island technical stop

Third part of the Robben Island tour

Tips for visiting Robben Island on the Cape Town route in 2 days

Ferries leave the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront.
The ferry schedule to Robben Island and the visits are at 9h-10h and 11h in the morning and eventually, depending on the time one is added at 15h.
The price is R360 per person and includes the ferry and the guided tour that is approximately 4 hours.
In case the ferry is canceled due to bad weather, you can opt for the money back or try to reschedule it for other dates or another time when there are places.
In case you had to reschedule your visit, you must have the new ticket printed or go through the ticket office to pick up the printed ticket.
It is important to be half an hour before at the ticket office, as boarding begins 30 minutes before and the ferry does not wait for anyone.
At the entrance to the ferry, you must deliver the passport and pass some security arches. Remember to take it.
Although the visit at the historical level is essential, Robben Island will also give you incredible views both from the ferry and later from the island, so this is another incentive to not miss the visit.
The ferry ride is approximately 40 minutes and the visit is about 3 hours.
There are several points where you can go to the bathroom and there is also a bar service, which you can go to at a stop that takes 15 minutes on the bus route.
Although you can not always see, at the technical stop, next to the bar, there is a small beach area where you can see penguins.
Although it depends a lot on how you have structured your route in Cape Town after our experience we would recommend you to make this visit from 3 in the afternoon especially in summer so that the return coincides approximately with the fall of the sun and thus be able to have Really spectacular views.
Something to keep in mind is that this tour usually runs out very fast, so it is important and highly recommended to book it in time to not run out of seats.

Robben island

We finish the visit to Robben Island when it's 6:30 in the afternoon going straight, this time walking and as the guide tells us, following the steps that the prisoners followed when they were released, back to the ferry, after 30 minutes and beautiful views of Cape Town with Table Mountain on the horizon, get back to the Waterfront, where today we end the route by Cape Town in two days.

Penguins on Robben Island

And although honestly we are not very hungry, we decided to go to one of the restaurants we have seen are more recommended in the city, which is none other than Col'Cacchio, where we ordered a couple of pizzas, water and beer for R343 with which we We say goodbye to this amazing city that we can say, it has been the perfect gateway for this trip to South Africa and the culinary end of today's route through Cape Town in 2 days.

Today's route by Cape Town in 2 days It has taken us to know Table Mountain, Waterfront and Robben Island, three of the most incredible places in the city.

Day 6: Betty's Bay and Whale Watching in Hermanus